SKW 101

Before you can decide if a source is right for you, it's important to think about how you'll be using that source in your research, writing, and speaking. Any type of source could be appropriate for a research assignment, depending on how you use it. The BEAM framework helps you think this through. BEAM stands for: Background, Exhibit, Argument, Method. 

Background Sources provide information that is accepted as unquestionable fact

• These sources are usually non-controversial
• Depending on the discipline, background sources are considered "common knowledge," which is information that is universally accepted by those in a particular field of study

Exhibit Sources include the actual data/phenomena/artifacts a writer is interpreting or analyzing

• These sources are used to provide an example of or give evidence for a claim
• For a literature paper this would include the novel or essay you're analyzing, for history it would be a primary historical document, for sociology it might include a data set or experimental results, or for biology it may be information gathered from observing plants in a laboratory.

Argument Sources include information from other authors you are agreeing with, disagreeing with, or building upon

• Other scholars have investigated your research question; acknowledging and citing them puts your research in conversation with these authors
• This is your chance to add something new to the discourse on this topic

Method Sources are materials that influence how you think about, engage with, and understand your topic 

• These sources can include research procedures, theories, and sources of discipline-specific vocabulary
• They may also include specific theories or scholars whose work is relevant to your analysis